When to Plant Pampas Grass in Vernon Hills, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant pampas grass is to check out the USDA zone info for Vernon Hills.


Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since pampas grass require warm weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pampas grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pampas grass
Probably not a good time to plant pampas grass

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Vernon Hills is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pampas grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Vernon Hills the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Vernon Hills is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Vernon Hills it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vernon Hills

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Vernon Hills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Vernon Hills.